End of a Legend
by ThePainter'sCanvas
Summary: Just a woman. Just a mother. Just a family, hunted for what they used to be


_'Just a woman. Just a mother. Just a family, hunted for what they used to be.'_

**IMPORTANT: This is supposed to be read as if you're watching the final scene of a movie, two scenes merging back and forth, but the woman's singing continues over the top... sorry if it gets confusing.**

**Also, I know 'Naruto' ninja are crazy fast, but i still think that if they were caught by surprise, they wouldn't have chance against guns. If not... well, just think of this as AU**

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** Disclaimer: **lol I'm pretty sure you all know i don't own Naruto. And errrm... I don't own the song 'Edelweiss'. Do I need to say that?

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**End of a Legend**

A young woman smiles indulgently at the happily gurgling infant in her arms and murmurs softly.

_Edelweiss, Edelweiss,_

She rocks back and forth in front of a roaring log fire. The leaping flames wrestle with the ice of the blizzard outside, embracing them in protective warmth.

The scene fades, but the woman's voice carries on, growing stronger as she continues with the haunting melody.

_Every morning you greet me._

The pale light of dawn begins to filter in through snow laden windows, and she hurries to answer frantic knocking on her door.

Outside, two strangely dressed men 'huff' and 'puff' as they fumble to hand her a hastily written letter.

_Small and white, clean and bright_,

She throws a worried look over her shoulder to her child tucked safely, in a crib. Turning back to the men, she demands an explanation, not even bothering with the letter scrunched in her hand. They gesture wildly, panic obvious in they way they stutter and stumble. All of a sudden, a look of horror and absolute terror flits across her face. She bends down, as if to tie a shoe lace, and disappears. But the unusually dresses soldiers know it was only a trick of their eyes, as they turn around to see blurred foot prints in freshly fallen snow.

_You look happy to see me_.

The scene of the log fire is back. A sudden flare in the fire throws a burst of light over the young woman's face. The infant giggles in delight, exposing a smidgen of white poking through bare gums. The mother's smile widens and one would have to be blind to miss the pure and unadulterated love that shines in her eyes.

_Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever._

Sharing a look of hopeless finality, the two young men follow footsteps in the snow, wearily jogging back the way they came.

_Edelweiss, Edelweiss,_

She smiles gently down at her happily sleeping baby. Wanting the moment to last she hesitates...

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The young woman skims over the ground and through the snowy forest at a speed that should not be humanly possible. She can FEEL him nearby, but his energy is feeble and fluctuating, making it difficult for her to pin point his location. She really should have questioned the messenger-nin further. Too late for that. Movement catches her eye and she spots figures in a clearing just ahead. Finally! Rushing ahead, she bursts into the clearing, eyes quickly picking out the man she is searching for. And a loud crack splits the air.

She knew it. She SHOULD HAVE known it. A trap. So simple. So ridiculously effective. She sees the horror and despair engraved on her husband's face. She finds it morbidly amusing that she has time to panic about the way he's tied up and beaten. In a last ditch effort, she tries to twist out the way, but even she knows it's no good. It doesn't matter how fast she is, guns make ninja ineffective even on the best of days. With the invention of guns, her country (based on and protected by ninja) had died out. And now the last of the ninja had been found. And she berated herself bitterly for her stupidity. Finally, she cursed how quickly her mind could work. It gave her far to much time to think. An image of her darling daughter, sleeping peacefully at home, blissfully unaware, waiting quietly for her mum to come home, popped into the young woman's head. A tear manages to trickle down her cheek, but an apology dies on her lips as her body thumps limply to the ground, a bullet lodged in her heart.

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_Bless my homeland forever_...

A beautiful young woman lets the last, quite notes of a softly haunting melody settle slowly, before sighing and pushing herself out of the rocking chair - quite a feat with a baby in arms. She gently lays the infant in a crib, and lovingly tucks her in a cocoon of blankets. She affectionately smiles once more, smooths down an unruly tuft of white hair, and shuffles sleepily from the room.

The fire has died. Icy tendrils of air creep in through a front door left ajar, and the weak morning sun makes a valiant attempt to banish the stubborn shadows from the small log cabin.

An innocent baby girl shivers ever so slightly and begins to cry, despite in her warm nest of blankets. She waits for the comforting warmth that is her mother. A warmth that will never come. The only memory of it being a haunting, ancient melody.

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**AN: That's it folks! ^^**

**Considering that I wrote this at about midnight last night (and on my ipod!), I'm pretty happy with the way it's turned out! That last half was hard to write, and I still don't think it's perfect, but it'll do.**

**As always, constructive criticism and hints will be welcomed with open arms! **

Edelweiss is a white mountain flower, hence the baby's white hair. It is also found in rocky terrain but is short lived, the woman.

**~TheCanvas**


End file.
